Immatics, the US-based cancer immunotherapy specialist, has appointed Dr Stephen Eck as Chief Medical Officer.
Stephen Eck is a hematologist and oncologist with more than 25 years experience in academia and industry.
Dr Stephen Eck, said: “Immatics has truly impressed me as having one of the most innovative approaches in immuno-oncology. I am thrilled to be joining the company at this very exciting time in its history and as T-cell therapies move to become more widely used in cancer therapeutics.”
He continued: “Immatics’ unique approach gets at the root cause of prior failures in the treatment of solid cancers by addressing novel, highly-specific cancer targets and mobilising billions of activated T cells against these.”
Eck began his professional career at the University of Pennsylvania where he was Director of the gene therapy programme, after this he has held a number of leaderships roles in oncology drug and biomarker development at prominent pharmaceutical companies.
Prior to joining Immatics, Eck served as VP and Global Head of Oncology Medical Sciences at Astellas Pharma and previously held senior roles at Pfizer and Eli Lilly.
Whilst at Astellas Pharma, Eck worked closely with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, a key collaborator of Immatics, on a number of clinical trials, joint collaborations and external advisory committees. He is also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is chairman of the board of directors of the Personalized Medicine Coalition.
Dr Harpreet Singh, CEO and president of Immatics US, said: “Stephen’s appointment will further strengthen our cell therapy programmes and global development capabilities. He brings significant experience in both early and late-stage development, as well as new drug approvals, in oncology and cancer immunotherapies, which will be invaluable to us as we progress our clinical and pre-clinical programmes.”
Eck has a PhD in Chemistry from Harvard University and an MD degree from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine.